Flocking machine



Oct. 20, 1953 E. A. ABELES 2,655,895

FLOCKING MACHINE Filed Sept. 18, 1950 INVEN TOR. Ekxvzg r A. 4552 ESlrro/Pme'v I Patented Oct. 20, 1 953 :FLQCKING MACHINE Ernes A les Worlalsssv assi m l l u daiIn-::W Mar ala .corn ra m of MassachusettsApplication September 18, 1950, Serial No. 185,441

i lleim 1 This invention relates to a method. and'a-pparatus forflocking, which refers to the application of flock to a packing materialpreviously coated .with adhesive.

In .the prior art flock has been applied to the backing material for agreat many years by passing the backing material over and-incontact witha series .of-beaters which rapidly rotate and agitate the backingmaterial, the flock mul an s yb i s dep s t d on theamaterial in anyway,de sired, but particularly by blowing from above so that it settlesdown upon the ad .hesive-coating on the backing material; and the actionof the beater-bars causes the backing material to vibrate, or to beagitated so that the flock g-radually becomes fairly evenly cementedthereto.

The principal-object of the present invention is to increase thequality'of theflocking by making: the flocking adhesion greater per unitof area; or, in other -words, the fleck-ing according to the presentnovel method and apparatus becomesdenser and it is-cementedbetter andmore effectively tothe backing material, making a thicker, higher;quality, and better wearing and feeling material.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a new andimproved processing machine for producting higher quality flockedfabrics and other materials having a better density and consistency thanthose of the prior art.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. l is aview in side elevation of a machine according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a greatly enlarged end view of one of the rotating cams, andshowing the relation thereof to the backing material; and

Fig. 3 is a top plan view showing a detail of a cam, screen and materialto be flocked.

In Fig. l, the reference numeral I indicates a bed or support havinglegs l2 and provided with a cement or adhesive applying bench M at oneend, the latter comprising in general a horizontal knife l6 which isadjustable vertically by means of a wheel I8. The backing materialreferred to above is shown at 20 and it passes over a front roll 22, anda roll 24 under the knife l6 meters or gauges the adhesive 26 which istherefore applied to the top surface of the backing material 20 in athin even layer.

At the other end of the machine there is a roll 28 which is here shownas guiding the flocked material which may be passed into a 72 drier,vulcanizer, or other. ,machine. asdesired gr n e sa y. u o he m c e inap of the present invention.

The bed 10 supports an upright frame gfl n which are rotatably mounted aseriesof elone gated earns 32 which cams are arranged for rotation in aclock-wise direction asv see the draw na P Q -i d vin provided for thepurpose. H hese' rotaryparns are fluted as shownat 34,-Fig. 2, and areelongated so as to underlie the entire width o the backing materialtransversely therepf.

The cams 32 are arranged .gn -an are ..as ;clear. 1y shown in Fig. '1for a purpose ,tobeflescrgibdd, and, therefore, the backingmaterialwhichpasse es thereover inv the directiqn of the arrows 35 isforced to travel on the are shown.

A screen 38 travels oppositely to .thegdi fi tion of travel ofthebacking material, see arrows o this screen preferably being of a.WeILkn ug'n plastic, but theinvention is not limited-i0 his particularmaterial. The screen ,38 also ass, ,FS the form of the are describedaboveand tens'ipn may be applied thereto by means of ascrew $2 on asupport 44 toadjust the tension of a spring 4 p ss n a .Ioller 4a in adownwar s irsetign so as to increase I or decrease the ,tension of thetravelin cre Each rotary cam 32 is provided with a longitudinal spacedparallel supporting bar 50 also mounted in the frame 30. Each supportingbar is just behind the respective cam in the direction of travel of thebacking material but just ahead of its cam in the direction of travel ofthe screen.

Each support 50 is used to detachably mount and support an elongatedrelatively narrow strip or flap 52. Each strip 52 overlies a rotary camas clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3 and terminates at 54 at a point only alittle beyond a vertical plane passing through the cam axis. The strips52 may be of any suitable material and the esential characteristics ofthese strips are that they are durable and flexible to such an extentthat although they rest on the points of the flutes 34, the end edgesthereof as at 54 are extremely rapidly agitated under rapid rotation ofthe cams. Under this condition the flaps or strips flutter, particularlyat the edges.

This fluttering effect reacts against the screen 38 and, therefore,against the backing material and agitates and flutters the same. It willbe seen that the agitation or vibration is uniform from cam to cam but,of course, irregular at any one point along the length of any cam since,of course, the points of the cams will tend to knock strips 52 againstthe cams.

the strips 52 upwardly at about point 58, see Fig. 2, but this upwardmotion is limited by the presence of the screen and the backingmaterial, and, therefore, when the next successive point on the rotarycam contacts strip 52 the exact degree of force with which it strikes itis indeterminate because in flutttering, the strip 52 may be descendingbefore the successive point strikes it, or it may even be ascending.

The actual agitation and fluttering has a very small amplitude and isextremely rapid as the cams 32 are rotated.

If a denser flocking is desired, the tension on the screen is increasedas described above and this action creates a greater tension downwardlyagainst strips 52 and varies the bounce of the Furthermore, theoscillation of fluttering of the backing material is increased by thepresence of the screen and the fact that it runs oppositely to thetravel of the backing material.

The more rapid the oscillation or fluttering of the backing material,the denser and higher grade the flocking is, and it is believed that thecombination of the fluted earns, the flaps or strips 52 acting asvibrators, and the screen 38 is such as to make for the fastestoscillation or most rapid fluttering action in the fabric that would bepossible in a machine of the character described.

Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof, I do notwish to be limited to the details herein disclosed otherwise than as setforth in the claims, but What I claim is:

1. In a flocking machine having a frame, means to travel backingmaterial nnidirectionally on the frame under means to apply flockingthereto, and means to apply adhesive to the backing material preparatoryto application of the flocking, that improvement comprising a travelingscreen on which the backing material rests, means to travel the screenoppositely to the direction of travel of the backing material in contacttherewith, a rotary cam under the screen and located on an axistransverse thereto, means to rotate the cam, a free-ended flexiblevibrator between the cam and the screen, the cam striking and flutteringthe vibrator against the screen, said flexible vibratorbeing held at oneend thereof transversely of the screen, the free, fluttering end of .thevibrator extending from the end thereof that is held in the direction oftravel of the screen.

7 2. In a flocking machine having a frame, means to travel backingmaterial uni-directionally on the frame under means to apply flockingthereto, and means to apply adhesive to the backing material preparatoryto application of the flocking, that improvement comprising a travelingscreen on which the backing material rests, means to travel the screen,a rotary cam under the screen and located on an axis transverse thereto,means to rotate the cam, a free-ended flexible vibrator between the camand the screen, the cam striking and fluttering the vibrator against thescreen, said flexible vibrator being held at one end thereoftransversely of the screen, the free, fluttering end of the vibratorextending from the end thereof that is held in the direction of travelof the screen.

3. The flocking machine of claim 2 including means to adjust the tensionof the screen down upon the flexible vibrator.

4. The flocking machine of claim 2 including a plurality of cams andvibrators arranged on an arc and holding the screen and backing materialon said are.

ERNEST A. ABELES.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS FranceDec. 28, 1917

